Hubs recently told an acquaintance of ours that I’m a Bobby Flay groupie. I’ll admit to being a fan. I even think he’s cute. But that’s not the same as being a groupie. I’ll also admit that I watch many of his shows. I’m especially fond of Triple Threat and Beat Bobby Flay.
If you haven’t watched the shows, you won’t know that they’re more about competition than recipes. If you win a competition cooking segment against Bobby on Beat Bobby Flay, you get to look into the camera and say, “I’m Vickie Fee, and I just beat Bobby Flay!” I’ve never seen another show where the winner gets the chance to brag like that when they win. That’s one of the things I appreciate about Bobby. He likes to win, but he’s a generous loser.
On Triple Threat, three top chefs compete as Bobby’s “titans.” Really accomplished chefs, often restaurant owners, compete. If they beat all three titans, they win $25 thousand. The money is a big deal to those with new restaurants, who are able to pay off some bills or expand their restaurant’s footprint. I’ve become fans of Bobby’s “titans,” as well. It’s their job to save the $25,000, and most of the time they do. Bobby hands the cash to the winners in a duffel bag, and they enjoy running their hands through it.
If you’ve watched other shows with Bobby, you may already be familiar with Brooke Williamson, Michael Voltaggio, and newest titan Ayesha Nurdjaja. Former titan Tiffany Derry, now has her own show, in Texas, I think.
The titans have very different personalities and styles of cooking. They play well off each other. All three of them own restaurants. Ayesha owns two popular restaurants in New York. Brooke has a west coast eatery, and Michael and his brother own a steakhouse.
For those of you who are nosey, like me, you might be interested to know that Brooke and Bobby are a couple now. They both insist the diamond ring she’s sporting is NOT an engagement ring. In fact, Bobby has said that he and Brooke would never get married. But, I have seen a couple of photos of them kissing in public. Brooke has been divorced a couple of times and Bobby has three ex-wives. It makes sense that they’re not in a hurry to rush down the aisle with anyone else.
If you’re a Bobby Flay fan, or are interested in becoming one, he has a brand new show called “The Line.” He and a team of chefs go into a restaurant and take over running the “line” for an evening. I’ve only seen it once. (I think it was the premier episode). I’m not sure I’d be willing to add another regular show to my watch schedule, even for Bobby. But, I’ll definitely watch another episode.
Do you have a favorite chef or cooking show? Or a TV show of any kind that you can’t miss? Please share in the comments.
Bobby!
Did you know he’s only 7 days older than me? It’s disgusting how young he looks.
Huge fan. Watch him whenever I can. I would love to be able to say “I beat Bobby Flay!”
And yes I’ve met him. Not as stuck up as people say he is.
Michael Simon‘s laugh is real, it’s not for show. Him and Bobby joking around is real, they are close friends, although Michael is more apt to mention Bobby and the other way around.
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I’ve never met him, but he seems nice! I think he and Brooke both look younger than they are.
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I admit, I read this to find out who Bobby Flay is.
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Sorry I don’t have any pictures to share, Kaye! But, he’s a ginger (redhead). If you flip around on Food Network, you’ll likely come across him.
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I did look him up! Since I don’t watch cooking shows, it makes sense I don’t know who he is. There’s no point in me watching those. I’m NOT a good cook.
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I’ll add that my late husband used to watch them. He LOVED Emeril, so I know who that is.
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I’m not a good cook, although I try now and then. I still enjoy watching other people cook — and win prizes!
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I like Emeril, but I don’t think he’s as cute as Bobby!
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Cut the cable some years ago so no Food Channel these days. I used to enjoy Beat Bobby Flay. Hestia, I love Michael Simon. He just seems so real. These days, I seldom watch much, but we have a local show on PBS, Check Please, Arizona. The host, Mark Tarbell was an Iron Chef winner who owns a restaurant in Phoenix. For each show there are 3 people (can be anyone interested) who submitted a favorite restaurant. All three plus Mark visit the restaurant, eat there then they all come together and discuss their experience at each location. They highlight these local restaurants and the show is always a great source when looking for a place to go!
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I”d love to visit a local restaurant with a favorite chef!
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I haven’t watched any Bobby Flay shows. Sometimes I’ll tune into Iron Chef or The Great British Bake Off. I watched Rachael Ray cook a few times. And the show, Is it Cake?, is pretty fun!
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Jen, I sometimes watch Iron Chef with Alex. And I enjoy watching Ina Garten prepare recipes!
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I recently found out that Bobby and I went to the same high school, albeit not at the same time.
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Tom, that sounds like a fun reason to go to a school reunion!!
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I’m not a fan of cooking competition shows, but I do adore Julia Child and Jacques Pépin. I even bought a set of all of Julia’s PBS cooking shows from the ’60s a few years back.
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Leslie, I always enjoyed watching Julia cook — although some of her dishes were too advanced for me!
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I don’t watch cooking shows but my sister is a big fan of cooking competition shows. I once made the mistake of calling her right before a show named the winner of that episode’s competition and she made me wait for the reveal before we could talk. Ha!
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Patricia, my sister has been hooked on one of the British bake-off shows!
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I was lucky enough to work very near Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill when it opened near Gramercy Park. I had no idea who he was, but I loved the food. I took all of my author and agent lunch dates there whenever I could. My hubby and I used to watch Beat Bobby Flay all the time. Haven’t in a while…but I do also like the show (name?) where they have to create a dish using ingredients determined by a wheel of chance. The ingredient combos can be a scream. (Would I want to actually eat them? Umm…)
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Lisa, I believe Bobby still has a restaurant in New York and one in Vegas. Anytime we’re nearby, let’s do it!
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I’m not a big fan of cooking shows, but I am addicted to Survivor and The Amazing Race. And The Challenge seems to have hooked me as well.
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I watched early seasons of Survivor, too, Mark!
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I don’t watch as much Food Network as I used to. But my sister DVR’s Beat Bobby Flay, so I watched quite a bit when I was visiting. He is a gracious loser – seems genuinely happy for those who come out on top.
And no, he’s not in a hurry to get married again. He made a crack about it on one of the shows I saw this summer.
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Yay, Liz! I believe someone will eventually get him down the aisle again! He’s too cute to stay single forever!
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I love Bobby Flay and on afternoons working my jigsaw puzzles, I tune into his show Beat Bobby Flay on the Food Network. It is on most Thursday and Friday afternoons for hours and some other days sometimes. It amazes me how he can just make a recipe the way he does but especially if he has never made it before. And he does love his peppers. He is cute and takes their teasing quite well and if he wins, he always has a poem about his winning what they cooked. Hubby Dearest can do a lot of that but not like Bobby! Tune in if you haven’t.
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